Vestibule-car



(No Model.) 2 Sheets- Sheet 1.

T. E. THOMPSON.

, VESTIBULE GAR.

N. PETERS. Phoemmmgnpher, whngm D, c.

(Non/infiel.) v .zsheets-sheetz.

T. E. THOMPSON.

VESTIBULE GAR.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

THOMAS E. THOMPSON, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

VESTIBULE-CAR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 394,313, dated December l1, 1888.

Application filed July 10, 1888. Serial No. 279,547. (No model.)

To all who/lz. it 71mg concern.:

Be it known that I, THOMAS E. THoMPsoN, a citizen oll the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Vcstil'iule-Uars, of which the following' is a specification.

My invention relates to an improvement in vestilnlle-cars for railway-trains. The primary requisites in trainsof this character are, first, that the contiguous platforms shall be wholly inclosed, and shall remain wholly inclosed to the practical exclusimi of rain, snow, dust, cinders, and the external atmosphere in whatever position the train may assume; secondly, that the several cars forming the train shall be so interlocked at their adjacent ends as to cause the entire train to form practically one car by preventin separate, lateral, vertical, and torsional oscillation in the scveral ears.

My invention consists in 1nechanis1n,where by all the above objects are attaineifl.

It also consists in a certain construction of the doors,lwhereby they perform the threefold function oi' closing the sides of the plat form only, or of closing the end of the car when the latter is detached or is at the rear or front of the train, or of opening both the sides of the platform and the end of the carbody at the same time.

It further consists in certain details of construction in the matter of the swinging' doors, pertaining, among other things, to the mounting of the doors, spring mechanism for actuating' them back and forth, and inechailism for securingl them in certain required positions.

It consists, further, in the internal arrangement of the car, whereby exceptional convenience is secured, and all direct draft through the car excluded at will 5 and it consists, further, in certain features pertaining to the strengthening of the body of the car, all as hereinafter more fully explained.

In the drawings, Figure i is a plan view of the end portions of two connected cars, the upper part of one being removed to show the internal arrangement, and the car-body above the sills being' removed from the other, and portions of what remains broken away to show the construction of certain details; Fig.

2, an end elevation of the car-body exclusive of the trucks, with the outer doors swung aside, thus showing theinnerswinging doors;

Fig. 3, a central vertical section of t-he end portion of one car, showing in elevation the door for closing the platform, with certain parts broken away to illustra-te details of construction; Fig. 4, a transverse section of the upper part of the end of a car, taken on the line l of.' Fig. 3, showingl the construction of the self-adjusting flexible shields which inclose the platform beyond the doors; Fig. 5, a vertical sectional view of a part ofthe doorframe and door, showing the door-spring; Fig. (i, a horizontal section oi' thedoor-fra1ne, door, and door-spring; i', a horizontal section of the door, showing a top view of the doorhandle and pivotal plate to which the bolts are attached; and Fig. S a section of the end sill and appurtenances, taken on the line S S of Fig. i.

A A are the side walls; B, the end walls; C, the roof; I), the floor of the car-body proper; and E is the lioor of' the platform, which I form on a level with the iioor D, thus over* coming one of the objectionable features of vestibule-cars as they are at present constructed, and rendering practicable the application of my swinging doors.

F F are the steps extending down both ways from the platform in the usual manner.

The cars are coupled together' by novel mechanism, which will be hereinafter described, and the principal but not the sole agents for inclosing the platforms consist in the doors (if. The fact has already been mentioned that these doors perform the threefold function of closing the entrances to the platforms, and, lwhen they are not needed for this purpose, of closing the ends of the cars, and also of permitting both the entrances to the platform and to the body of the car to be thrown open at the same time. In performing their functions they are required to describe an are, nearly or quite equal to a semicircle, and to be capable of being secured in position at the extremes and the center of this arc; hence it will be evident that no ordinary means of hinging the door would answer, since ordinary double hinges would create much too wide a crevice to be properly closed by a weather-strip when the door would be in IOO position to close the entrance of the platform. The pivotal edge of the door, it will be seen, is in contact with the end B of the car, and it is necessary that the pivotal mounting of the door shall be such as to maintain it in such contact. The rear edge of the door is rounded, as shown at z, and the adjacent face of the door-frame is provided with a shallow curved recess, y, to receive it. On each side of this curved recess, and, if desired, entering the same, as shown, a weather-strip, x, should be placed. To the rounded rear part of the door, both at the top and the bottom, a pivotal pin, w, is firmly secured, which goes into a socket formed by a plate, r, secured to the iioor of the car or to the top studding above the door, as the case may be. This forms the pivot on which the door turns, and it will be apparent that with this construction permanent contact is maintained between the rear edge of the door and the door-frame in whatever position the door may be swung.

To secure the door in any one of the positions which it is intended to assume, l provide two vertically-sliding bolts, u and Iu one extending up and the other extending down from opposite ends of a plate, t, pivoted near the outer edge of the door at about the height of an ordinary door-handle. The sliding bolts are pivotally connected to the opposite ends of the plate t, and the latter is operated by means of handles s. To render the plate t pivotal it is mounted upon a shaft with -cylindrical journals t2, which turn in bearings t3, secured to the exterior faces of the door. The turning of the handle in one direction causes the bolts to advance beyond the top and bottom of the door, and the turning of the handle in the opposite direction causes the bolts to recede within the compass of the door. On the floor and upon the top st-udding, at the three points where the door is to be secured, socket-plates c' are secured to receive these bolts. It is obvious that any of the ordinary locking devices may be applied to lock the bolts in their sockets.

To cause the doors, in whichever i Yay they may be swung, to tend to assume a central plane, I provide a door-spring, which may be connected to the door-frame about midway of the height of the door, though it may be attached in any other position. Owing to the peculiar requisites of a door-spring to adapt it to a door mounted as my doors are mounted, l have been oblige@L to contrive a door-spring of special construction'for the purpose, a description of which is as follows:

In the door-frame of a recess is formed,which receives a metal thimble, q, and in the bottom of this thimble there is a hole, p, opening into a diminished recess, p In the rounded rear edge of the door, in line with the thimble q, a square notch, o, is formed, and at the base of this notch, at the edges thereof, vertical rollers n are mounted in bearings n. Fitting within the thimble q, so that the two may telescope together, is a thimble, q', closed at its outer end by a disk, m, extending beyond the periphery of the thimble, as shown, and rigidly secured to the disk m at its center is a mandrel, Z, which extends through the opening p in the inner end of the thimble q and into the diminished recess p. A screw-nut, 7s, is fitted upon the screw-threaded portion of the mandrel Z, and between this screw-nut and the bottom of the thimble q is a helical spring, z', surrounding the mandrel. The screw-nut permits the spring to be adj usted to any desired tension, holes being provided in its periphery to admit a suitable instrument for turning it. It will be seen that when the door is in its normal position-that is, when it is at the central point of the arc which. it describes-the disk ym is in contact with both rollers ln. lVhen the door is swung in either direction, the disk 'nly will depart from t-he roller at the side opposite from the direction of swinging, and the roller which remains in contact with the disk will move the latter for a short distance, at the same time pressing the disk and its attendant parts inward in opposition to the spring. In other words, it forces the disk in the direction of the doorframe and causes the thimble q to enter farther into the thimble q and the mandrel l to enter farther into the recess p', thus causing the spring /z' to be further compressed between the nut 7c and the inner end of the thimble q. Upon releasing the door it is obvious that the resiliency of the spring will tend to throw the door back to its normal position, and after swinging back and forth it will iinally come IOO to rest with the disk m in Vcontact with both rollers n, as represented in the drawings.

Everything that has been said with reference to the doors G applies equally to the doors G', which separate the end compartments of the car from the main compartment. The end compartments areintended to serve especially as social rooms, and are partitioned off to form sub-compartments for toilet-rooms.

A great advantage of the doors G lies in the fact that they serve to cut olf all direct draft into the main compar ment of the car. This will be found particularly desirable when the platform-doors G are open for the ingress and egress of passengers at stations.

All of the foregoing are subordinate features of my invention, but are of considerable importance as elements of the entire structure.

The leading feature of my invention consists in the mechanism by which the cars when coupled are so interlocked that all separate oscillatory movement, in whatever direction, as well as all direct, separate, vertical, or lateral movement, is prevented. l effect this by providing each end of the car with a metal frame the outer face of which is in the form of a rack. This trame has a base, H,

extending above and below the end sill, K, and 'backed by aprons l and-il', projecting rearward from it and forming a flaring recess The purpose of to receive the end sill, K.

forming the Haring recess at the rear of the plate ll to receive the end sill is to permit the play necessary, owing to undulations ot' the railway track. Fxtending backward from the lower part of the plate Il, and near its opposite ends, are two curved bars, L, which perform functions which are in part performed by the hounds ot a wagon. These curved bars L extend back through metal blocks M, which are set into mortises formed in the sill K, loosely enough to slide back and forth therein, but at the same time snugly. The guideways 71 for the bars L are made tia-ring, as shown in Fig. 8, for the same reason that the recess formed by the aprons l and I' are made Vdaring-that is, to compensate for the variable angles which any two adjacent f cars may form at their point of coupling', ow-

ing to undulations in the grade. The bars L are pivotally connected by pivot-bolts g to manflrel-rods L', which extend back through flaring openings 7L' in the sill K'. Surroundin g the marnlrel-rods L', and con ti n cd between heads g', upon the outer ends ot those rods and plates g2, bolted to the sill l', are helical springs 'i'. At the center ot' the plate Il at its rear is a pivotal coupling, 2, for an ordinary spring-butter, N N'. The connection of the butter secures the rack rigidly in place as regards vertical movement, while the bars L secure it rigidly against torsional movement,

so that the connected car-bodies are compelled to yield on their trucks under strain actingin the directions named.

rlhe above (i-,onstruetion is ot' course the same in both the adjacent cars, (shown as coupled in Fig. 1,) and the effect ot' the spring-buffers N N is to press the plates H on the adjacent cars together, causing' them to intermesh. The teeth of the plate Il do not extend entirely across, but leave a plain surface, O, at the center; and it will be noted that the teeth and recesses on opposite sides on the plain surface O do not correspond, but alternate, a tooth on one side being in line with a recess on the opposite side. The plate H forms the base ot' an interlocking' frame, of which H are the vertical sides and H2 the top; and it will be noted that the principle of alternation in the teeth and recesses on opposite sides ot' the center is carried through the entire frame. Thus on one of the vertical sides there is one tooth in the rack and on the opposite side one recess in the rack, each extending the entire height of the frame, while at the top the teeth and spaces alternate on opposite sides ot the center inthe same manner as at the bottom.

. dien the two ends of the cars to be coupled are brought together, the adjacentracks H H' H2 intermesh with each other, either immediately or very soon after the cars have been put in motion; and the object of the devices which have been described, embracing' the curved bars L, with their attendant parts and the spring-butter N N', in addition to the ordinary function of the latter, is to maintain the racks upon the adjacent ends of the coupled cars in a constantly-interlocked condition irrespective of the variations in angle which the cars may assume with respect to each other, while the eiiect of the whole is to prevent any separate or independentlateral, vertical, or oscillatory movement on the part ot the coupled cars.

Ot' course the direct and immediate means for preventing separate vertical or lateral movement on the part of the cars is to be found in the intermeshing rack-trames; but these in turn are supported and rendered mutually self-adj usting by the other agencies mentioned-namely, the buii'er N N' with its pivotal connection i2, and the bars L, with their attendant parts, and these in turn are supported by the end sill and bottom tramework ot the car. Owing to the extra strain that is imposed upon the .end sill, K, and the remaining lower 'trameework of the car by the rigid connection above referred to, it necessary that all these parts be additionally strengthened and braced to prevent any possibility ot displacement or breakage. To strengthen the sills P, I provide them upon their sides with a sheathing of boiler-iron, j, tirmly bolted to the sills, as shown,the metal plate being iianged at its ends and bolted to the cross-sills', as shown at f. To brace the trame-work, I employ a series of truss-rods, as follows: One truss rod, Q, passes diagoually down through the outer longitudinal sills,P, and through and underneath the under end sill, p', and is secured at its endsbynuts f2. Another truss-rod, Q', occupies exactly the reverse position from that ot' the trussrod Q, since it 'passes diagonally up through the bot-tom sill, P', and over the two inner longitudinal sills, P, and is secured by nuts 3 underneath the sill P. Side truss-rods 2 7 and Q, connect the cross-sills P' and K' with the crossssills at the point where the kingbolt and channel-bar (not shown) are located. These side trusses brace in opposite directions, in the case of the end truss. In addition to the foregoing, `fiat metal bars R, crossingl each other, are bolted to the end sills, K, and to the longitudinal sills terminating at points (not shown) where they meet the outmost longitudinal sills, P2, to which they are likewise bolted. The longitudinal sills P are mortised into the cross-sill K' in the usual manner, and since this is always a weak point in cars I re-enforce it by means of the metal straps R',bolted to the sills P and crossing the sill K', and additional metal straps R2 underneath the longitudinal platform-sill P3, these straps R' and R2 being secured to the sills and to each other by bolts f4.

It will be noted that the position of the pivot i2 is variable, since it will move inward i or outward, depending upon the various conditions which exist in the operation of a train. It is obvious that the relative positions of the housings M for the curved bars L must vary IOO TIO

automatically with the variations of the pivot t2, since otherwise undue friction and strain would be eXerted upon these curved bars. It is for this reason that the housings or blocks M are given the capability of sliding within the end sill, K, so that th ey will always remain at a uniform distance from the pivot. Of course the housing may be made rigid and the openings for the passage of the bars L made large enough to prevent strain and fric,- tion; but I do not deem this construction desirable, since it would tend to throw the greater part of the strain upon the pivot and.

the stem connected therewith.

The purpose of the mandrel-rods L' and spring 'i' is in part to aid the buffer N N' in maintaining the rack-frames in contact, and in part to maintain the rack-frames parallel, or nearly so, with the end of the car when the oars are uncoupled. As the bars L slide inward and outward in their housings, the mandrei-rods L' naturally deiiect, and it is for this purpose that the openings through the sill K', through which the rods pass, are made flaring, as shown. Owing to the snug tting of the bars L in their housings at all times, all lateral strain exerted from the intermeshed racks is thrown jointly upon the pivot i2 and the bars L, and these parts must therefore be made of sufficient strength to resist the strain. All vertical strain, on the other hand, comes upon the end sills, K, through the medium of the aprons I and I', pivot 2, and bars L. The cars are coupled together in the usual manner by means of the draw-bar and hook S. y

To inclose the vestibule between the interlocking frames an d the door-j amb, a yielding' or iiexible medium is necessary, since the distance is variable with the variations in the position of the pivot i2, and also with the angles produced by the turning of curves, and, in the case of the top, also with the undulations of the grade. To compensate for all these variations, I employ both at the sides and top a double sheathing of ieXible waterproof material, U. One layer is secured at its edge to one edge of the frame I-I' H2 and the other layer to the opposite edge thereof, and the two layers thence extend backward around a bar, e, adjacent to the door-jamb and partly inclosed by a curved metal shield, d. So far as the mere inclosing is concerned, one layer U might be employed; but I prefer to employ a double layer, as described, partly because it gives increased strength and partly because it aifords a dead-air space, c, which contributes toward warmth in winter and coolness in summer. As the distance between the interlocking plate and the door-j amb varies, the iiexible sheaths U will move in and out in the space between the bar e and shield d, and will always maintain itself in a taut condition. The required recess may be formed otherwise than by the bar e and shield d, if desired.

The vestibule construction precludes the use of the ordinary lever for operating the coupler. I therefore employ a hand-wheel, V, mounted vertically in a bearing, b, upon the end railing of the car and operating the coupling by means of a chain, a, passing around the sheave a'. For purposes of symmetry, as well as for convenience and stability, I employ a similar wheel, V', similarly placed upon the opposite side of the vestibule for operating the hand-brake.

Vhile I prefer to have the contact-frames provided with a racked surface throughout their whole area, the whole upper part may be made plane, if desired, and only the bottom part, H, provided with a racked surface; or the sides may be plane and the top, in addition to the bottom part, be provided with a racked surface; or the top may be plane and the sides, in addition to the bottom part, be provided with a racked surface. Some of the features of my invention, moreover, are not confined to so-called vestibule-cars. Thus, for example, the feature of racked contactsurfaces may be adapted to ordinary cars, in which case the racked contact-plate would correspond approximately with the part H and the upper part would be omitted.

NVhat I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

l. In a railway-car, a rack-plate with horizontal teeth pivotally connected to the end of the buffer-bar to intermesh with a corresponding rack-plate on the buffer-bar of an adjoining car, substantially as described.

2. In a railway-car, a rack-plate with horizontal teeth pivotally connected to the end of the buffer-barfand rigidly secured in place as regards vertical and torsional movement to intermesh with a corresponding rack-plate on the buffer-bar of an adjoining car, substantially as described.

3. In a railway-car, a rack-frame having horizontal teeth mounted upon the end of the car and rigidly secured thereto against Vertical and` torsional movement to intermesh with a corresponding racloframe on an adjoining car, substantially as described.

4. In combination with the rack secured to the end of a railway-car, the Haring aprons I and I', projecting inward from the rack to receive the end sill, substantially as described.

5. In a railway-car, the combination, with the rack and end sills, K, of the buffer N N', pivotally connected to the rack, and curved bars L, rigidly connected to the rack and proj ecting through openings in the endsill, substantially as described.

6. In a railway-car, the combination, with pivotally connected to the rack, curved bars L, rigidly connected to the rack and extending through openings in the end sill, mandrelrods L', pivotally connected at their heads g' to the bars L and extending through openings h' in .the sill K', andv springs il', surrounding.

IOO

IIO

the rack, sill K, and sill K', of the buffer N N',

the rods L and confined between the heads thereof and the sill K, substantially as described.

7 In a railway-oar, the combination, with the rack, bui't'er pivoted thereto, bars L, projecting therefrom, and end sills, K, of the blocks M, having curved openings through them to receive the curved bars L, and tting mortises in t-he sill K, whereby they will automatically shift with the variation in position ot' the pivotal connection between the butter-stem and rack, substantially as described.

8. In a railway-car, thebulier-rack secured to the end of the ear rigidly as regards vertical and torsional movement, and havingits teeth and spaces located as described, whereby any tooth on one side ot' the center corresponds in position with a space on the opposite side ot' the center.

t). In a vestibule railway-car, the combination, with the metal contact-frame secured to the end ot' the car, ot the llexible sheathing' ll, secured by one edge to the contact-frame and extending back therefrom into a recess formed to receive it, substantially as described.

lO. In a vestibule railway-car, the combination, with. the metal contact-trame secured to the end ot' the car, and with the bars e and shields (l, oi' the flexible sheathing l, secured by one edge to the contact-trame and extending back therefrom between the bar e and shield d, substantially as described.

il. In a vestibule railway-car, the combination, with the metal con tact-trame secured to the ends ot' the car, ot' the flexible sheathing U, in two layers, secured by correspomlin edg'es, out of contact with each ot-her, to the trame, whereby an air-space, c, is formed, and both extending` back into a recess formed to receive them, substantially as described.

1Q. In a railway-car, the truss-rod Q, passing under the bottom platform-sill, P and up through the side platform-sills, P, and secured above the latter by nuts f2, in combination with the truss-rod Q, passingover the intermediate platform sills, I), and down through the bottom platform-sill, P', and secured below the latter by nuts f3, substantially as described.

13. In combination with the sills P, K', and P3 of a railway-car, the metal. straps R and R2, crossing the sill K above the sills P and below the sills P3, and bolted togetherthrough the sills, substantially as shown and described.

1i. In combination with the body and platform ot a vestibule railway-car, having their .floors in substantially the same plane, the doors G, swinging both ways from the end B of the car, as shown, whereby they may serve to close the platform or close the end ot' the car, or open both the platform and the end of the car, substantially as described.

l5. In combination with a railwaycar having the casing r, recessed as shown at y, the doors G, having the rounded rear edges, z, fitting within the recess y, and provided above and below with trunnions ir, entering sockets fr, formed in the tloor and in the trame above the door to torni a pivot, a sprin operating to throw the door into its central position, and bolt mechanism for securing the door in place at the extremes and center ot' its sweep, substantially as described.

lo. In combina-tion with a railway-carhaving the casing r, provided with the thimble q and diminished recess y1', and with the door G, provided with the recess o, the rollers n, mounted in bearings n in the recesso, thimble q', enteringl the thimble q, and having upon its outer end the disk in, to bear` against the rollers n, mandrel l, extending from the disk on, through an opening, p, in the inner end ot the thimble q into the recess p', screw-nut 71 on the mandrel l, and helical spring 1', surrounding the mandrel and conlined between the screw-nut and the inner end of the thimble q, substantially as described.

]7. In a vestibule railway-car, the double swingin doors G', separating from the main body of the car an end compartment, which may be made integral with the vestibule and with the correspomling compartment of the adjacent car by means ot' the doors G, substantially as described.

J. W. DYRENFoRTH, M. J. BOWERS. 

